In the two times I tried to wakeboard, I found myself very much acquainted with the water—crashing became familiar—and I have to admit though, the impact is a lot stronger than you think. Water literally becomes brick-like when you are traveling at jet ski speeds. I now wonder what these professional wakeboarders must go through, when an unfortunate crash happens, with all their up-in-the-air tricks. The impact will surely be magnified.

Like any sport or activity that requires helmets, safety is a a grave concern. Our heads are quite simply that precious. Now, because wakeboarding happens on water, unlike motorcycle helmets, wakeboarders can generally afford to have half helmets just to protect the skull or the most fragile part of it—the temple. Most wakeboard helmets are also very light and unobtrusive, as this is an important requirement if you are doing major airtime.

Like most gear, it is important to start looking for that quality helmet from known manufacturers and brands that are already involved in the sport. In wakeboarding, such brands include Liquid Force, Hyperlite, and Pro-Tec to name a few. These brands’ helmets will surely come of quality as some of them even sponsor professionals and events, not to mention their adequate history and research in the field.

Sample Wakeboard Helmets

Below you can find some helmets being offered by the aforementioned brands and you can click on each to learn more or read reviews. The good thing about these helmets though is that most quality, professional-grade helmets are below $100 to begin with. See some products below.

Pro-Tec Ace Wake

The Ace Wake, depending on size will set you off in the vicinity of $50. Available sizes range from small to extra large, with extra large suiting up to 60 centimeters. The Ace wake is a solid color helmet, with simple logos on the front and on the side. Available colors are red, blue, yellow, and black.

Click here to read more about the Ace Wake.

Hunt for more Wakeboard Helmets

Click here to start your helmet hunt.

So for starters, we shall start an experiment and create an article on a very far side of the spectrum—welding helmets. Why? Because somewhere in this blog network is a blog about welding, and the chief writer there was bragging to us about his new, flamed paint job he did himself on a  welding helmet test mule. We later figured out what markets welders looking for helmets are interested in, until we came across auto darkening welding helmets.

Truth is, I do a little welding myself. This is primarily because one of my other passions, which actually in reality is my first love, forced me to learn a thing or two about metals—mini trucks. Mini trucks, or mini trucking is quite possibly a form of new age hot rods, which we all know is the mother of all customizing.

About Auto Darkening Welding Helmets

Without a proper tint or shade on your welding helmet, you are literally working in the dark. Some might be used to it—some are skilled enough to just wait for the light the first arc supplies and go on from there—but if you are semi-new to the trade you really need to see what you are welding. MIG, TIG, Stick, whatever type of welding you are practicing, it pays to get quality welds.

I for one have been used to a certain tint shade which is not that dark to begin with. Without the arc, I can still see the metal especially if the place is well lit. When the arc comes, the light still is not that bright and it is still considered safe for my eyes.

Auto darkening helmets literally darken when an arc develops. One reason people shy off with these helmets is that they think there is no such thing that can darken that quickly—but, they can’t be more wrong. Darkening helmets react as fast as 1/10,000 of a second. Yes, you read that right. Plus, you can also adjust the tint it automatically darkens to, whether it be around the 9 shade up to 13 or more.

These helmets rely on batteries and complicated circuitry to darken. Some of these face shields also utilize solar power—we all know how powerful welding light gives at it can literally burn our face in a matter of hours. These solar-powered helmets combined with lithium batteries are a total maintenance free solution. Sure, these helmets are a little more expensive to begin with, but just imagine how much comfortable welding can become if you can see before and after, and during welding.

To find a proper auto darkening helmet, first look at brands that are known also for their welders or welding units. Such brands include Miller, Hobart and Lincoln Electric to name a few.  These companies’ helmets should have gone through major research since they are leaders in the welding industry anyway. You can also look at other aftermarket brands by checking out welding supplies or big tools centers.

Sample Images

Roof, or “ROOF”, is a French brand. They produce what the industry refers to as “untraditional” helmets. However, with their great reputation and excellent product offerings, they produce exceptional, functional, and very protective lids. The ROOF brand stems from experience. Its founder, Claude Morin, started out as a motorcycle and car racer, and a true motor sport fanatic. He also realized his passion for innovation, and to this day is known as the first person to create a motorbike chassis from composite materials. His research and interest in protecting riders eventually led to helmet design and the ROOF brand. In 1993, powered with a wealth of experience, he launched his very first model—the ROOF Roadster. And now, 17 years later, his company has stood out, producing original, non-traditional, safe, and comfortable helmets.

Below is a 1997 poster for the Roof Roadster helmet.

Their product catalog consists of four main categories: mini-jets, jets, full-face, and versatile. Jets and mini-jets are otherwise known industry as half-face helmets. This category also includes the aforementioned Roadster helmet. Versatile helmets are what you might consider as modular helmets of flip-up helmets. Possibly the most unique and original feature of their modular  helmets is the ability of the lower part to go all the way to the back, presenting a usable, makeshift jet or open-face helmet.

Below is a photo of their versatile (modular) helmet with the mouth shield retracted all the way. Shown is the Boxer V8 model.

Below is an excerpt from a review done by webBikeWorld on the roof boxer.

“Many owners swear by their Boxer and love its features. If you need the ability to combine the functionality of a full-face helmet with the freedom of an open-face, this is about the only game in town. The Boxer meets the tough ECE 22-05 safety standard, and it definitely feels more substantial and solid than probably all of the flip-up helmets we’ve tried.”

“It would be nice if it had a chin vent so the helmet could be worn with the visor completely closed, but it’s not the first helmet we’ve used where an open visor is a necessity. If you’re a fan of the styling, you probably won’t mind some of the quirkiness. After all, quirks are what make it stand out from the crowd.”

Click here for the complete review.

Pricing

Prices for Roof motorcycle helmets are awkwardly placed between the semi-affordable between expensive helmets. For example, one of their most affordable models—the Roof Rider falls in the vicinity of $280. It is also important to note that the Roof line of products have not totally invaded North American shores. Most, if not all, online retailers of Roof helmets are located in Europe.

Final say

Roof’s innovative designs and ideas are a very refreshing change in the world of motorcycle helmets. If you are getting tired of the usual racer designs offered by household helmet brands, a Roof lid (no pun intended) could be just what you need. Their designs, which I wouldn’t dare describe as ugly or weird, is for me, just different. In fact, they have some models that struck the aesthetic side of me, especially with the obvious uniqueness and non-standard graphics and colors. With such cool concepts, they’re really worth a look.

Click here to visit Roof’s official site.

If you want to document a ride, make a short film about your trip, or explore places where only motorcycles can go, a helmet camera can give you the best view. This is because it is the one closest to your real vantage point. In such scenarios, cameras are normally installed on helmets and on the bike itself. Sometimes, and if you can afford it, having both will give you the best options when it comes to editing.

Having a bike-mounted camera will give you a solid, consistent view of the road and path. It can be useful for filming routes and roadways. It also works well in dark filming during the night—if set up properly—as it should share the light provided by the main headlight.

A helmet-mounted camera, on the other hand, gives the exact rider perspective. It will record everything that you see and look at—for example, scenes that are slowly passing you on the side.

The disadvantages posed by one method should be handled by the other method. A helmet-mounted camera should give you a good perspective, but can sometimes lack focus because as a rider, you need to look where you need to go. As with a bike-mounted camera, it can only focus forward and can easily skip exciting scenery from the side.

Makeshift methods

If you only need to film once and feel that a camera mount investment might be a little of the budget, you can make do with some household items and a little improvisation. The first thing that comes to mind is duct tape. If you have a small and light enough camera, industrial strength tape should do the trick. The only downside to this is it might leave sticky goo on your precious helmet.

Other methods involve simple drilling of holes on your helmet—for example, a motocross style helmet’s sun visor. If you have one that have paid its dues, you might want to sacrifice it as a helmet camera.

Click here to see a video of the exact same method done and demonstrated by a rider.

Products

Of course if you plan to do this on a regular basis, you would need a dependable product. Helmet camera mounts have different styles of actual mounting. The most common ones use straps while others use strong suction cups. Below are some links to popular products used and abused by many helmet wearers.

Suction style helmet mount by Race Optics

Race Optics suction cup should hold up to 3 pounds weight. There is a rubber washer that absorbs shocks and vibrations, giving you a clearer picture. It also has a 1/4 thread stud that is a standard mounting point used by camcorders and cameras. This helmet mount also works well with their camera systems.

Click here to visit Race Optics’ site.

Other notable resources and links

1. A collection of helmet camera gear from Helmet Camera Central.
2. Helmet camera mounts sold by Amazon.com (third party).

Most of you know that Helmet Hunter is normally associated with motorcycle helmets. But, since youth helmets is a somewhat broad term, we shall discuss and cover helmets that can be used for various applications—carting, bikes, dirt motorcycles, and road/full face, race style helmets.

Depending on the age of your child, he or she will probably have to settle for youth or junior helmets until the age of fifteen. It varies widely on genes and or the height of your child—if he is considered tall or short for his age. Youth helmets are nothing short of their full version counterparts. They also pass safety standards like DOT and Snell, and really the only thing different is the size. And well, possibly the relatively fewer choices in styles, colors, and models.

Some examples of trusted brands that manufacture youth counterparts for their helmets include Bell, M2R, Gmax, Icon, Fox Racing (dirt), Giro, and Sparx. Now that’s just naming a few. Imaging all the brands available for your little rider.

And well, do not think for a second that just because you are buying a smaller helmet you’ll be paying for less. While such might be true to some extent, the prices of youth helmets are not that far from regular helmets. And well, to tell you the truth, that is how it should really be. Safety should not be taken for granted. If the difference is life and death, no price should be unaffordable.

When hunting for the right youth helmet, always start your shopping with specialty motorcycle gear shops. Never, or stay away from sold in kids merchandise and/or warehouse shopping places. Online is a good place to find quality youth helmets and if you are familiar with some of them (I assume you also ride), try to browse their youth section. If they do not have any, ask around, especially for those that have real stores, as they might just not have included them in the online catalog.

Below is a youth full face made by Airoh.

Next is a motocross style full face made by O’Neal.

Another motocross helmet, this time made by Bell.

If you are in the market for such, stay away from used helmets. Helmets have a lifespan and you can never tell if one is still safe for use because it is impossible to tell its history. Used helmets may also have been dropped once in their life—this is bad for safety because the protective shell can only be used once. Head injuries are very, very serious and should never be taken for granted.

When purchasing a retro helmet, always make sure to get from a reputable manufacturer. Most retro style helmets are available from novelty biker shops, these do not pass any sort of safety standards and are only meant as souvenir or display items.

Most old school motorcycle helmets are black in color. If you can get away with it, purchase one that has some color or is not entirely black. Black is nearly invisible in dark settings and color can help prevent possible accidents because they can be easily seen by vehicles from behind and in front.

The term old school is just a slang used in popular culture nowadays. “Old school” does not entirely mean old. As for helmets, the term is used because they were the only known kind of helmets back then. They were also very popular in the military during the wars. Aside from “retro,” they are also sometimes referred to as “shorty” and “vintage.”

Some known manufacturers of such helmets include HCI, Bell, Arai, and Shoei. They usually range in price below $100 but can go as high as $300 to $500.

Finally, make sure the helmet has a strong and secure strap. By the way, some of these helmets also have ear covers made of padded leather. Such can provide additional protection for cold weather and can also prevent further head and skull damage in the case of an accident.

Remember, your life is more valuable than anything. Always keep safety in mind. Wear a helmet. If you think it messes with your style, find something that can match your image.

Below is an example of a colored shorty helmet.

Below is an example of a very stylish vintage helmet wrapped in leather.

Click here to start your old school motorcycle helmet shopping.

About the Concept

Since then, the Concept has been replaced by the Schuberth C2. Back then, people had a hard time familiarizing with the fit of the Concept. To say the least, it was non-standard. It was known to have an alien-like fit—normal people with normal heads found it weird when worn. Sometimes it could fit so tight on the ears which would make them unbearable for medium to long rides. A close friend who uses large on the popular brands—Arai, AVG, Shoei—upgraded to an extra large for the Concept.

The Schuberth Concept helmet was loaded with many gadgets and features advanced for its time. Its flip-up mechanism could be operated with just one hand; however, closing it required two—especially if you’re new to modular helmets and are not comfortable with it closing tightly. The helmet also had a retractable sun visor feature which most buyers enjoyed. Flipping down the visor was easily done via a slider. The visor only effectively “tints” your front and peripheral views, leaving the instrument panel clear to your view. However, this feature also led to sunburn especially during long rides. The face shield on the Concept was also very large.

The helmet also had a small compartment on the exterior which contains pertinent rider information and how to correctly remove the helmet. This feature is especially useful in the case of an accident.

The helmet is well vented. It had a large chin vent and head vents. The face shield can also be opened up to about 1/8 of an inch. Many people rave about the ventilation properties of the helmet.

Aside from those already mentioned above, the Concept had a removable liner that comes off one piece. Its aerodynamics were also top notch—it had a unique rear spoiler which some people really liked.

The only common downside that people seem to mention was its noise. However, most of them only noted it to at least be unbiased in their opinion. In reality, the noise of the Schuberth Concept helmet was, to say the least, tolerable.

Photo

Below are some of the GT’s features

Unique about the GT is the chin part which uses a tough opening mechanism made from magnesium. Caberg made it a point to make the hinge-ing strong, because it is a known common fail point of modular helmets. It also opens with a central ergonomic button. The helmet has standard adjustable vents on the top, chin, and on the rear (aforementioned air extractor).

The lining is completely removable and washable; the fabric is sanitized and treated. The visor is a Double Visor Tech. The first is a clear visor with a thickness of 2 milimeters which is anti-fog and anti-scratch. The second visor is an anti-scratch (only) smoke visor. Fastening is done with a micrometric buckle.

Available colours and graphics

The Justissimo is available in silver, metallic black, titanium (personal favorite), dull titanium, and matte black. There is a mirage graphics version—the graphics is hidden beneath the varnish (clear coat).

Sizes: Extra small to double extra large.

This helmet passes ECE 22.05 standards (full face safety standards).

Reviews

Below are some good reviews for the Justissimo (non-GT).

1. webBikeWorld review of the Caberg Justissimo.
2. Caberg Justissimo helmet review from Motorcycle Co UK.

Where to buy

Click here to find the latest deals on the Justissmo GT.

Photos

We don’t have the exact date of production yet, but we estimate the RF-200 as being older than 14 years at lease—The First 1000s appeared circa 2003 and we’ve read reviews of the RF-700 dated 1996.

The 200 is known to be a very comfortable helmet in its time. We have encountered a couple of owners sharing anecdotes from the glory days of their RF-200s, and a certain forum member even said that it was what got him to stick with Shoei and only Shoei helmets—he has been using their helmets for over 13 years.

Another short, semi-review on the RF200 mentioned that it (once again) sits comfortable on the head, has a ventilation system, and is not “deafeningly” noisy. But, the downside was that the shell was a little bulky and heavy, plus, the the strap is located in a way that it pulls the helmet forward-down, making the rider push it up on the chin bar every so often during trips. Aww, and here we’d hope it was a perfect helmet.

Update

We’ve found yet another RF-200 experience. A long-time user said that he came to owning his back then by asking stores, “What is the quietest motorcycle helmet I can get?” Interesting.

Anyway, below are a couple of borrowed photos of the 200 from a forum member who tried to sell his (although we don’t think it sold). Hit us up if you are interested.

1. You are looking for a U.S. distributor of Nolan helmets.
2. You are looking for online dealers.

Nolan is an Italian helmet company, and finding the right information in English can be a challenge. I’m sure you have come across the site www.nolanhelmets.com, hoping to find information on the dealer nearest you, only to find out that the site is only an affiliate. It sucks that that site outranks the official site of Nolan, which is www.nolan.it.

Nolan is actually the Nolan Group. As we all know, Nolan is in itself a helmet brand—popularized of course by world champion Casey Stoner. Nolan is also essentially X-Lite—another helmet brand popularized by another (soon-to-be) world champion, Jorge Lorenzo of the Fiat Yamaha MotoGP team. Apart from Nolan and X-Lite, the Nolan group also owns Grex and N-Com (helmet communication devices).

If you are looking for online dealers, two of the biggest Nolan helmet dealers are Extreme Supply and Helmet City. There are a number of other online stores carrying Nolan dealers, just make a search and I’m sure you’ll know if they are trustworthy enough.

However, if on the contrary you arrived at this page wanting to be a Nolan dealer, or just want to contact the official U.S. distributor, then you’re in luck. Information for the official U.S. distributor below.

CIMA Internationa, Inc.
1585 Beverly Court, Unit 118
Aurora, IL 60502
866-2HELMET; 630-701-1601; Fax: 630-701-1606
www.nolan-usa.com

If you want to have a master list of online and offline Nolan dealers, then help me out here. I will compile and add to a list soon. Please hit the comments below for any information regarding dealers. Thank you.